Not sure where to start? We can help. Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace

Transcription

1 Not sure where to start? We can help. Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace The Standard is free The resources are free Use them to help make a difference in your workplace

2 Table of Contents Not sure where to start?... 1 What is a psychologically healthy and safe workplace? 1 Reducing hazards and mitigating risks 1 Free tools and resources on our website 1 Psychological Health and Safety Management System 1 It does not have to be difficult 1 Commitment, Leadership and Participation...2 Planning...2 Resources to help you measure and evaluate 2 Elements and priorities for working towards a psychologically safer workplace 2 The five elements of a common management approach and recommendations for each stage of employment 3 Implementation...7 Meeting the needs of your unique organization 7 Evaluation and Corrective Action...7 Management Review and Continual Improvement questions for leaders on psychological health and safety 9 Weathering the Perfect Legal Storm: Navigating legal requirements...10 Could the Standard, or parts of it, influence existing legal requirements? 11 Conclusions extracted from the full report by Dr. Martin Shain 12 Additional Tools and Resources...13

3 Not sure where to start? Organizational excellence, recruitment and retention of employees, and improved productivity are all sound business reasons to implement a Psychological Health and Safety Management System. The workplace can play an essential part in supporting positive psychological health. Creating and maintaining a workplace that is psychologically healthy and safe makes good business sense for employers and employees alike. The voluntary National Standard of Canada on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace (the Standard) provides a free framework to help employers reduce risk and improve psychological health and safety in their workplaces. Besides managing costs and risks, a healthy and safe workplace is also foundational to an engaged workforce, which supports organizational performance excellence. What is a psychologically healthy and safe workplace? The Standard defines a psychologically healthy and safe workplace as one that promotes workers psychological well-being and actively works to prevent harm to worker psychological health in negligent, reckless or intentional ways. Reducing hazards and mitigating risks Taking steps to improve psychological health and safety can help employers better manage risks such as: Financial including costs related to disability, staff turnover, recruiting, as well as lost productivity from absenteeism and presenteeism Legal and reputational potential liability and reputational risks related to human rights, occupational health and safety, workers compensation, collective agreements and employment contracts Morale potential costs due to lack of morale, a sense of unfairness or unresolved workplace issues including conflict, complaints or grievances Free tools and resources on our website The Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace (the Centre) is dedicated to expanding knowledge on workplace mental health issues, and turning that knowledge into practical strategies and tools for employers in Canada. If your organization is looking to enhance workplace mental health or work towards the Standard, we can help with free tools and resources available on the Centre s website Workplace Strategies for Mental Health at The Psychological Health and Safety section on our website provides tools and information to help you integrate psychological health and safety into your organization, including the development of a Psychological Health and Safety Management System. Psychological Health and Safety Management System A Psychological Health and Safety Management System supports organizations through the five main stages as described in the Standard: Commitment, Leadership and Participation Planning Implementation Evaluation and Corrective Action Management Review and Continual Improvement Each section provides practical and relevant resources, and answers questions related to perceived challenges. This can help your organization move towards a psychologically healthy and safe workplace in a cost-effective manner. It does not have to be difficult Your approach does not need to be an intensive initiative or large-scale change. A Psychological Health and Safety Management System is similar to other management systems and should be integrated with, or embedded in, existing systems, policies and processes. For example, over a three-year cycle, the first year could focus on assessment of your existing status and planning to address any gaps. The second year could focus on celebrating existing successes and implementation of any improvements. The third year could focus on evaluation and corrective action. Work could then continue in the following three-year cycle with implementation of successful initiatives continuing and corrective action being added. Although it will require an investment in time, it can be implemented without additional funding or complex changes. Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace 1

4 Commitment, Leadership and Participation A valuable first step towards a Psychological Health and Safety Management System is a publicly stated commitment by senior leadership. This can set the stage for a critical component which is commitment and participation of all workplace stakeholders, including employees, worker representatives and all levels of management. As with any initiative, people are more likely to be committed to the process if they understand what s in it for them, and if their fears about any potential changes or required effort can be addressed. We can help you highlight the benefits of building a psychologically healthier and safer workplace. In the Commitment, Leadership and Participation section of the Workplace Strategies for Mental Health website you will find: Reference material to help you build the business case for senior leadership Sample key messages you can use to help obtain commitment and address workplace stakeholders concerns Planning Planning helps you set priorities, and focus on areas where you can achieve the greatest benefit for your employees and your organization. Visit the Planning section of the website for information on establishing a baseline for your organization s current psychological health and safety level, as well as determining a plan of action and methods for evaluation. Case study excerpt: When a small health facility with 70 employees assessed psychological health and safety, a relatively high proportion of employees reported being bullied or harassed. Organizational leaders said, We had expected that there would be difficulties reflecting a lot of organizational change over the past couple of years but we were surprised at the extent to which psychological safety emerged as an issue. We learned that there was one clinical team in particular where psychological safety was a serious issue: we called this a hotspot and it was a focus of our efforts. 1 Case study excerpt: A director of Human Resources and several of her staff attended a provincial conference on workplace mental health. They heard presenters talk about the financial impact of employee mental health issues, which was consistent with their own data that indicated increasing benefits costs and Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) utilization. Of particular interest were presentations on the impact of poor mental health on morale, productivity and safety along with the release of a new tool to assess this Guarding Work. This information was presented to the organization s senior executive and a decision was made to make this a priority for the coming year. 1 Resources to help you measure and evaluate Additional resources and tools include Guarding Work TM. It includes an evidence-based suite of resources with an online employee survey that produces a confidential and comprehensive report, an organizational review process and more. And it is all free! Elements and priorities for working towards a psychologically safer workplace On September 30, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, a group of executives, labour leaders, health and safety professionals, government agency representatives and experts in law and policy came together to look at the implications of Dr. Martin Shain s paper entitled, Tracking the Perfect Legal Storm: Converging systems create mounting pressure to create the psychologically safe workplace. The group was tasked with considering what employers need to know and/or need access to provide a psychologically safe workplace in today s economic environment. The full report is available on the Workplace Strategies for Mental Health website at Following is an excerpt that takes the five elements of a common management approach (policy, plan, implement, check and review), and applies it against different employment life cycle stages. Use this to help guide your own planning and review. 2 Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace

5 The five elements of a common management approach and recommendations for each stage of employment Workplace issues Policy and commitment Planning Implementation and operations Checking and corrective actions Review Recruiting and hiring Define psychologically safe workplace for new recruits Articulate the values of organization and how they will be upheld or measured State that no negligent, reckless or intentional injury to employee mental health is tolerated or condoned Consider emotional intelligence in selection and promotion of those whose role involves supervision or support of employees Ensure the hiring process includes consideration of psychological safety for interviewees Discuss accommodation and organizational supports as well as the process to obtain assistance in the workplace Define cultural and social expectations or norms within your workplace Increase psychological comfort by considering recruiting options such as: Sharing the interview process in advance Providing written questions at the time of interview Offering a choice of sequential versus panel interviews A three to six month review of job-fit to assess the effectiveness of recruiting and hiring practices Measure satisfaction and engagement as well as performance Consider a short survey asking about the recruiting and hiring process to seek input for improvement If necessary, provide relevant training and support If changes are needed, review again in another three to six months as necessary Annual review of recruiting and hiring practices overall and analysis of the outcomes Orientation and training Require that the organization values be embedded in both orientation and all training approaches Consider how all (or the absence of) orientation and training processes may impact psychological safety Define an orientation program that takes into account mental health aspects of the job, the culture, rates of change within the organization, application of organizational values, how to access support or accommodation Set up a management development process that includes awareness of mental health and mental illness, development of interpersonal competence, access to just-in-time resources, and coaching/mentoring Require all training and orientation to be assessed for impact on behaviour of the trainee and others, as well as outcomes Ask what challenges there were in new job placement to learn how to improve orientation and training approaches Ask about training requirements and training refreshers to understand the needs Do scheduled reviews of organization-wide, department and job-specific orientation and training approaches and compare to other measures of psychological safety and engagement Set up a shorter orientation process for job changes within the organization Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace 3

6 Workplace issues Policy and commitment Planning Planning Implementation and operations Checking and corrective actions Review Review Evaluation, performance management, discipline and promotion Require senior leaders and those responsible for governance to walk the talk of organizational values Develop a system that supports psychological safety in the approach to management, evaluation, discipline and promotion Ensure those responsible for management of people have a minimum standard of emotional intelligence or support to develop this skill Create a performance management system that rules out health problems before beginning discipline and embeds solution-focused approaches in working with employee issues Take regular account of productivity by measuring outcomes rather than outputs (i.e., measure results rather than effort such as showing up every day or working longer hours) Analyze external influences on performance such as economic pressures, family issues, community disasters, as well as employee conflict and organizational pressures Consider the impact of the various systems of management and evaluation and whether they result in desired outcomes Consider pilot projects to test out alternative approaches Engage employees in developing solutions that allow them to accomplish the tasks assigned Help supervisors and managers to identify and solve workplace issues promptly and in a sustainable manner Intervention and crisis response Require clear standards of response in the event of crisis Ensure that crisis response programs include aspects related to those with mental health concerns as well as considering the psychological impact of a crisis on all employees Develop programs for proactive crisis prevention Develop intervention programs to assist troubled employees Employee Assistance Programs must be relevant to your organization Assess efficacy of programs and relevance to need Review all programs, look for synergies and consider gaps 4 Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace

7 Workplace issues Policy and commitment Planning Implementation and operations Checking and corrective actions Review Accommodation and return to work Ensure understanding of, and compliance with, Human Rights and Disability Law Define accommodation opportunities that address issues related to communication, feedback, directions, relationships, triggers and stressors in the workplace as well as task-oriented approaches Consider the impact on others during accommodation and return-to-work planning Proactively remove or reduce barriers to work-related psychological safety and support Create a return-to-work process that includes consideration of psychological impacts, even for physical injuries or illness Consider refresher or new training for anyone who has been away for two months or more, or during a time of change in processes or procedures Develop an accommodation approach that engages the employee fully in finding solutions that allows him/her to be successful at his/her job Have regular follow up for at least the first six months of a return to work Have at least annual follow up for accommodation to ensure it is still the most effective solution Make sure that needs are being met Review annually against Human Rights or Disability Law changes, and for effectiveness from the perspective of employee and supervisor Make changes as needed Support supervisors in understanding and sustaining all aspects of a successful return to work, including changes in communication and feedback Redeployment and termination Ensure leaders are physically present and communicate effectively during times of layoff or redeployment Explore community resources, organizational or benefit provider resources, and external providers for approaches and supports available to those who are losing their jobs Consider the psychological impact on survivors of downsizing, layoffs or redeployments In times of significant change consider the psychological impact of job insecurity, lack of role clarity, competition or collaboration with newcomers, changing or unclear expectations or values Provide targeted training programs for those managing organizational change and those who execute terminations Ensure availability of resources to support the employee in dealing with the emotional fallout and subsequent job search Consider the needs of those who may have mental health issues at the time of termination and the psychological safety of those who are terminating Solicit feedback from both those who are let go (exit interviews) and those left behind about the perception of the company response to layoff or redeployment Prepare for possible future situations by having plans in place or consider next steps if the event has already occurred Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace 5

8 Workplace issues Policy and commitment Planning Implementation and operations Checking and corrective actions Review Organizational structure Consider the potential psychological impact from governance, new development approaches and existing organizational structures Require integration of psychological safety in existing and future programs Collect data that will help guide the development or evolution of the organizational structure including focus on psychological impact Analyze data and involve stakeholders in developing alternative approaches Ensure psychological safety for all positions including those that utilize non-standard approaches such as telecommuting, working alone and other flexible work arrangements Audit of all programs to ensure that psychological factors are measured and addressed at regular intervals Review results using continuous improvement framework Consider the psychological impact of communication and feedback loops, job security, role clarity, levels of competition and collaboration, clarity of expectations, values and policies Job design Organizational policy to include a process to assess healthy and safe job design (e.g., job risk assessment and cognitive demands analysis) Plan/review jobs to ensure that psychological demands are assessed and psychological safety is addressed Job design for those in supervisory or management positions includes adequate time to provide a psychologically safe work environment Seek feedback from those in the jobs to assess if the design is psychologically safe and clearly defined Make adjustments as necessary Review job design when new jobs are developed or there are significant changes to jobs 6 Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace

9 Implementation Once you have established objectives and targets to improve psychological health and safety, it is up to your organization to implement action steps to reach your desired results. Meeting the needs of your unique organization There are many possible approaches and you can choose one that serves the current needs of your work environment. You may wish to first identify any safety or legal concerns such as bullying, harassment, violence or discrimination that should be eliminated. Then you might begin your implementation stage with one of the factors that has an impact on psychological health and safety and that also aligns with your current strategic goals and objectives. Or, you may wish to begin by celebrating your successes to date as many organizations have already implemented initiatives that contribute to psychological health and safety. Information and tools are available on our website to help you with whatever starting point you choose. Case study excerpts: Ongoing reorganization and budget cuts within an occupational health and safety services program had reduced group cohesion. Realizing it needed to be selective in which actions to take until the crisis had passed, the organization focused on providing a series of workshops to enhance awareness of psychological health issues. They provided staff with more options/skills for responding to these issues. It was stated, We are committed to a culture shift, not a sprint but a marathon; we are in it for the long haul. 1 A survey to assess workplace psychological health and safety conducted by a manufacturer of heavy equipment revealed that an above-average number of employees, many foreign workers from China, India and Russia, reported discrimination or being bullied or harassed. Actions to address this included: training for all managers and supervisors on civility and respect in the workplace, review of the bullying and harassment policy for all staff, having all general communication to staff translated into relevant languages, and expanding a monthly update meeting to include all staff instead of just managers. 1 Evaluation and Corrective Action Evaluating the outcomes from the implementation of a Psychological Health and Safety Management System need not be onerous. In fact, simply re-administering your original assessment and comparing baseline data to current data after two or three years may be a cost-effective way to measure results. Over time, you can build your Psychological Health and Safety Management System evaluation to measure a broader range of goals and objectives based on the corrective actions you have identified. Evaluation is critical to assess whether or not your intended outcomes were achieved and the extent of improvement in overall psychological health and safety. Adjusting your plan accordingly and taking corrective action keeps your organization moving in the right direction. Case study excerpts: A recovery centre in a major urban setting had become a dysfunctional workplace due to serious psychological safety issues. This resulted in increased absenteeism and mental health-related disability. While an intervention was conducted, the facilitator perceived that the leaders of the troubled units had underestimated the difficulties of repairing the dysfunction. You can t continue doing what you ve been doing and think it will immediately get better they don t yet see the link between their policies and the problems they re facing. 1 When the president of a large, recently merged residential construction company implemented measures to address psychological health and safety in the workplace, staff responded positively to the changes. Absenteeism dropped by 20 per cent in the last quarter and the provincial compensation board reported that the company s claim rate for accidents and injuries was now well below the average for their industry. 1 Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace 7

10 20 questions for leaders on psychological health and safety Management Review and Continual Improvement Business decisions made without full awareness of their impact on psychological health and safety could result in reducing or reversing any progress made in working towards a psychologically healthier workplace. Regular review by senior management can help ensure that progress continues by considering psychological health and safety when making strategic and operational business decisions. Resources that can help with this include reports generated from Guarding Work and the 20 Questions for Leaders on the next page. This will allow leadership to consider risks to psychological health and safety. Following the review process, senior management can provide direction for a continual improvement process for a Psychological Health and Safety Management System. Case study excerpts: A credit union manager recognized that the efforts to build and sustain a psychologically healthy environment in her branch would take ongoing commitment. She needed to provide the leadership, but all staff needed to be involved if this was to be effective. Of particular importance, in her opinion, was clear, consistent and ongoing communication. She stated, I believe it is all about continuous improvement towards a better work environment in order to maintain our most precious resources our staff. 1 When a community police force undertook a survey to assess psychological health and safety, serious to significant concerns were raised in the areas of organizational culture, clear leadership and expectations, and civility and respect. Management, oversight boards and union representatives publicly stated their commitment to continue to address the issues. It was very important for us to do an assessment before intervening. It is more cost efficient and effective, and you don t run the risk of poor outcomes or alienation of staff with the implementation of irrelevant interventions. 1 The residential construction company president was pleased with the outcomes when he implemented measures to address psychological health and safety in the workplace, specifically concerns related to organizational culture. He also provided ongoing opportunities for employees to confidentially contact him with concerns or suggestions, noting, The staff knows that if we start to go back to some of our former practices, they can speak up. 1 8 Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace

11 20 questions for leaders on psychological health and safety 1. Is employee psychological health and safety a stated priority in our organizational policy statement? 2. Do people in our organization have a common understanding of a psychologically safe workplace? 3. Is our management team familiar with the legal and regulatory requirements and expectations related to workplace mental health and psychological safety? 4. What is the cost of stress-related illnesses both physical and mental to our organization? 5. Is there a system in place to measure the rates of both absenteeism and presenteeism (being unproductive while present at work) in our organization and what percentage of these may be related to psychological health and safety issues? 6. What percentage of your disability claims do you believe are related in whole or in part to mental health issues or workplace conflict issues? 7. Do our policies align with occupational health and safety, labour law, tort law, contract law and employment standards with respect to psychological health and safety? 8. Is there a process in place to encourage frontline managers to provide a psychologically safe workplace through such measures as performance indicators and evaluation methods? 9. Are those whose position includes managing, supervising or supporting employees adequately trained, skilled or competent to make sound decisions? 10. Do the leaders and management in our organization recognize and respond to conflict in a timely and effective manner? 11. Are the leaders and management in our organization trained to identify the difference between a mental health problem and a performance issue? 12. Does our organization have a policy on work-life balance? 13. Does our organization work to prevent physical, relational or emotional harassment, bullying or aggression? 14. Does our organization help prevent discrimination by providing all employees with a basic level of knowledge about mental health issues? 15. Do we have crisis response policies and processes in place for issues such as suicide, violence, threats of violence or emotional breakdowns at work? 16. Does our organization have a process allowing for open communications between managers, supervisors and employees that help us to address the needs of co-workers who are traumatized by personal or workplace issues? 17. Do we have a return-to-work policy that takes into account the emotional, psychological and interpersonal challenges and allows union/employee representatives a role to play in the return-to-work process, including having the opportunity to provide input on the return-to-work process? 18. Do we know how to reasonably accommodate those with a mental health disability at work? 19. What resources in our organization and/or community exist for employees struggling with mental health issues? 20. Is our organization exposed to complaints concerning the duty to reasonably accommodate persons with mental disabilities, which may include depression or anxiety-related disorders? Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace 9

12 Weathering the Perfect Legal Storm: Navigating legal requirements In his report, Weathering the Perfect Legal Storm, Martin Shain, S.J.D., looked at the requirements of the emerging duty to provide a psychologically safe system of work in the context of the Standard. The report was written to help employers recognize the value of the Standard as a tool to help avoid legal liability for the psychological injury of workers in the workplace. Following are relevant excerpts that provide a bird s eye view of Dr. Shain s work. The full report is available at weathering_the_perfect_legal_storm_bev_e.pdf 3. Organizations that adopt the Standard will be better placed to avoid conflicts, grievances and disputes that characterize a psychologically unsafe workplace. These conflicts can simmer below the surface for months or years and fuel the furnace that ultimately gives rise to the destructive force of legal actions. 4. Whereas before January 2013 the law had been contributing to the pressure to develop a Standard, the Standard is now poised to create a back pressure on the law by helping to fill voids in definition and specification of the duty of care to provide a safe system of work. This potential back pressure is evident in the areas of law outlined above and depicted in the following diagram. 1. Even though the Standard has no legal force, it is predicted to have an impact on the law because it offers a definition of a psychologically healthy and safe workplace, and a framework for a psychologically healthy and safe system of work. 2. Many legal commentators from prominent law firms across the country, representing both employee and employer interests, see the Standard as providing a higher level of specificity around the potential nature and quality of employer responsibilities for the protection of employee psychological safety. By providing a definition of the psychologically healthy and safe workplace as one that actively works to prevent harm to worker psychological health including in negligent, reckless, or intentional ways, the Standard provides a framework for a level of safety higher than that found anywhere in the Canadian legal system. The Standard specifies the responsibility to provide a psychologically safe system at work 7. Employment standards legislation 6. Workers compensation statutes 1. Occupational health and safety statutes The Standard 2. Employment contract law 3. Labour law The seven branches of law named in this diagram influenced the development of the Standard. The Standard may have an influence on the application of these laws in the future. 5. Human rights law 4. Tort law 10 Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace

13 Could the Standard, or parts of it, influence existing legal requirements? 1. Under occupational health and safety statutes In so far as the Standard deals with protection of psychological safety, it could be used by employers as an articulation of an ideal psychologically safe system of work and to assist them in meeting their obligations under the general duty clause of Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) Acts. For example, the general duty clause is found in Ontario s OH&S Act at section 25(2) (h), and provides that an employer shall take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker. The general duty clause is expressed in slightly different ways in different jurisdictions. Under the general duty clause in OH&S Acts across the country, this would only happen if the courts that hear prosecutions under that legislation decided to refer to the Standard, or if a Lieutenant Governor in Council (or equivalent) decided to issue a regulation to the relevant OH&S Act that incorporated the Standard in some manner. Harassment and bullying are recognized risks to psychological safety in the Standard. British Columbia is the only province that has amended its Workers Compensation Act to include compensation for mental disorder predominantly caused by a significant work-related stressor including harassment and bullying. This amendment was enacted before the development of the Standard, but the Standard may influence other provinces to consider a similar approach. 2. Under employment contract law The contract of employment under common law implies a requirement for a safe system of work. A breach of this implied contractual term has been characterized as constructive dismissal. Recent developments suggest an increasing judicial willingness to see this requirement as extending to psychological safety. The Standard definition of a psychologically healthy and safe workplace may provide a clearer basis for tribunals and courts to determine when a breach of an implied contractual term, with respect to psychological safety in an employment contract, has taken place. 3. Under labour law Failure to provide or maintain a psychologically safe system of work could be characterized as breach of a collective agreement where the agreement specifies compliance with all existing National Standards. Existing arbitration in Ontario has deemed collective agreements to include the OH&S Act and deemed that mental health is part of the definition of health in that legislation. The Standard could be used by arbitrators to further refine decisions related to psychological safety. Recent case law in Ontario has placed the responsibility for a safe system of work in not only the hands of senior management but also partially in those of directors of corporations. This inclusion of directors of corporations in the responsibility to ensure a safe system of work is consistent with Standard recommendations. Due diligence would be available as a defense to prosecution for failure to protect psychological safety. Compliance with the Standard could be interpreted as a proactive approach and may be seen as due diligence. Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace 11

14 4. Under tort law Access to tort law for negligent infliction of psychological suffering in the workplace was denied by the Ontario Court of Appeal. A key objection was that there is no accepted norm for psychological safety protection in the workplace against which such claims could be assessed. The Standard articulates such a norm. If referred to, the Standard could also act as a defense against claims of negligence causing psychological injury, if an employer demonstrates every reasonable effort to comply with the Standard. 5. Under human rights law Human rights tribunals could choose to see the Standard, or parts of it, as providing content for systemic or public interest remedies that would guide the redrafting of policies and retraining required to address the perceived underlying causes of specific complaints. While the size of personal damage awards appears to be growing in the context of human rights violations, such individual awards may be less important than these systemic remedies. 6. Under workers compensation statutes Workers Compensation Boards, that have not yet modified their legislation or policies to allow compensation for chronic and/or cumulative stress-related disorders, may refer to the Standard as best practice. That is, they may see the Standard and the legal/scientific/practical evidence it is based on (and referenced and explained in the Annexes of the Standard) as a legitimate social assertion that certain ways of managing people and organizing work can, and does, give rise to psychological injury. Nova Scotia, for example, appears to be seeing the Standard in this light as that province undertakes a review of its own workers compensation legislation and policies. High-level reviews of occupational health and safety and workers compensation legislation could use the Standard as a basis for harmonizing the preventive and compensatory practices within a single philosophical framework. British Columbia has moved sure-footedly towards this kind of harmonization and several influences outside of the Standard appear to have brought about this development. 7. Under employment standards legislation The relevant body of law under this category is Quebec s Employment Standards Act. At this point in time it is unclear to what extent, if any, the Standard will influence policy and practice under this legislation. Conclusions extracted from the full report by Dr. Martin Shain The risk to employers of being caught up in legal issues related to psychological injury and failure to provide a psychologically safe system of work continues to grow. In light of this fact, and as a precautionary measure, employers would do well to study the Standard as a potentially effective way to avoid or weather the storm that such potential liabilities can attract. Beyond this strategy of self defence, and as a transformative measure, employers can review the Standard as an opportunity to shift the employment relationship towards one in which their interests in business and service efficiency are served by the same strategies that protect psychological health and safety at work. Note: The Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace commissioned this report in support of its ongoing efforts to provide practical information and resources to employers seeking to improve psychological health and safety in the workplace. This report builds on an earlier report Tracking the Perfect Legal Storm authored by Dr. Shain on behalf of the Mental Health Commission of Canada. The Canadian Mental Health Association provided project co-ordination and material support. 12 Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace

15 Additional Tools and Resources As you work through the Psychological Health and Safety Management System, there are many other tools and resources on our Workplace Strategies for Mental Health website that can be helpful to you. Managing Mental Health Matters is a free, online video-based program that addresses the need to improve the competence of managers and avoid risk to the psychological health or safety of employees. It includes modules on accommodation, return to work, performance management and conflict resolution. On the Agenda On the Agenda is a series of slide presentations based on factors that influence psychological health and safety in the workplace as identified by Guarding Work. These presentations can help trainers, managers or others to facilitate discussions aimed at developing a psychologically healthy and safe workplace. On the Agenda is intended to engage employees in developing and committing to approaches that improve psychological health and safety for the entire team. Working Through It TM is a series of video interviews of real people sharing their experiences working through tough times of mental health pressures. This resource can be used as a support for employees who are experiencing mental health difficulties, as well as an approach to awareness and education for all staff. These tools, resources and much more are available to anyone, all day, every day, at no charge. Use them to help make a difference in your workplace. 1 Gilbert, M., and Bilsker, D., (2013). Adapted from case studies reported in Guarding Work: Analysis of user data and experience. Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace 13

16 Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace The Great-West Life Centre for Mental Health in the Workplace and design are trademarks of The Great-West Life Assurance Company. Working Through It is a trademark of the Moods Disorders Association of Ontario and the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario, a joint venture, and is used with permission. Guarding Work is a trademark of the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA) and is used with permission. M7239-4/14